Lycra Lines

Craggy cyclists of yesteryear wore tightly knitted woollen shorts that were cut and shaped not to snag on the bike seat. Black didn't show the inevitable grease and grime from fixing chains and changing tyres. Folklore has it that Tour de France originals placed a hunk of steak between their saddle and posterior. This provided comfort during the day and tenderised the evening meal. Truth or myth, this morphed into a thin leather 'chamois' pad that was the precursor to today's sophisticated multi-level synthetic pads with anti-bacterial contact fabrics. Synthetic fibres developed in the post war era ushered new technology into cycling. Durable, quick-drying nylon replaced wool and the now ubiquitous lycra provided knitted fabrics with amazing 4-way stretch and recovery. Shorts gained greater performance through their body hugging stretch fit.

Ground Effect's range of stretch shorts has evolved through an accelerated list of options - from the cotton lycra Black Mambas in 1994 through various incarnations of the benchmark Sputniks, culminating in the premium Supersonics and Mojos of 2006 with their 10-panel design, Softail™ pad and ShockWave™ Lycra® fabric.

Bibs have long been the favoured high performance option for elite competitive riders. Over the years we have been peppered with requests for a Ground Effect version. Finally, we responded with the Ringleaders. Grafted onto the proven Supersonics is a 5-panel bib with a lycra mesh back panel for cooling. The fit is even more precise and the absence of waist elastic enhances comfort around your midriff. The high quality, high stretch ShockWave™ Lycra® along with s-shaped leg seams and contoured panel design means we don't have to resort to the discomfort of gripper elastic to stop the legs inching up your thighs.

Shift into the big ring and take the lead.

Frase, Ground Effect Product Designer